A mere four years after it launched, the Android operating system now finds itself on three out of every four smartphones shipped in the third quarter of 2012, according to the latest numbers from IDC. Android smartphones in the quarter totaled 136 million units, accounting for 75% of the 181 million smartphones shipped. The platform has seen tremendous growth of 91.5% year-over-year thanks to a slew of devices and strong manufacturer reception. Unsurprisingly, Samsung (005930) once again led all other Android vendors, although its market share has declined slightly as smaller manufacturers increase their presence. More →

Microsoft believes its Windows Phone operating system will help the software giant push past Apple in China’s smartphone market, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. Passing Apple is an “interim goal” for the company, as the longer-term objective is to surpass Google’s Android platform and become the local market leader, Microsoft’s chairman and chief executive officer for the Greater China region Simon Leung said. Read on for more. More →

Appcelerator, in conjunction with market research firm IDC, on Tuesday announced the results of a recent joint survey of 2,173 app developers from around the world. The report found that developers are more interested in Apple’s iOS platform than any other mobile operating system. 89% of respondents said that they were very interested in developing for the iPhone, and 88% were interested in the iPad. Google’s Android operating system, which was once neck-and-neck with iOS in terms of developer interest, has decreased “due to continued fragmentation of the platform.” Interest in the platform dropped nearly five points to 78.6%, while Android tablets dropped 2.2 points from the previous survey to 65.9%. Windows Phone 7’s appeal, on the other hand, remains high and it is clear that the platform is the “number three OS in terms of priorities,” while interest in Research in Motion’s BlackBerry platform continues to fall. The study found that developer interest in the BlackBerry OS declined from 20.7% in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 15.5% in the first quarter of 2012. Read on for Appcelerator and IDC’s press release. More →

Images of Microsoft’s next mobile operating system, Windows Phone “Tango,” were published on Wednesday, showing off a number of new features. Tango will reportedly feature the ability to export contacts to a SIM card, handle multiple attachments in a single MMS message and manage roaming both domestically and internationally, according to WP7forum. It is also rumored that Microsoft is building a native voice recording application for MMS messaging. The images suggest that the company will be dropping the minimum hardware requirements of Windows Phone handsets down to 256MB of RAM and the camera requirements down to just 3 megapixels. The OS will warn users with a message in the Marketplace if they attempt to download an application that requires additional memory. Earlier reports have indicated that Tango may only be released for lower-end devices, but official details are expected to be revealed at Mobile World Congress later this month. Purported screenshots from Windows Phone Tango follow after the break. More →

Verizon Wireless covers 190 markets and 200 million people with the its 4G LTE network. It is the largest and most advanced 4G network in the United States, and possibly the world, no matter what other companies may claim. The carrier plans on going all in on LTE, having it become a “hard requirement” for future devices. Whether it is smartphones, tablet, or mobile hotspots, all future devices will feature 4G LTE connectivity. Read on for more. More →

Nokia took the stage at the Consumer Electronics Show and announced the company’s first 4G LTE smartphone, the Nokia Lumia 900. The device features a 4.3-inch Clearblack AMOLED display and will launch exclusively on AT&T in black and cyan color options. Similar to the Lumia 800, 710, and Nokia N9, the Lumia 900 features a polycarbonate shell that Nokia calls both bold and beautiful. The device sports a 1.4GHz processor, 4G LTE connectivity, a 1830 mAh battery, 16GB of internal storage, 512MB of RAM, with an 8-megapixel rear camera that features a 28mm f/2.2 Carl Zeiss lens and a front-facing f/2.4 wide-angle camera. The Lumia 900 will be available within the coming months and will be priced aggressively, according to Nokia. Read on for the press release. More →

With the Consumer Electronics Show just around the corner, savvy consumers are likely waiting before they commit to a new smartphone. The wait just became slightly more difficult, however, as T-Mobile on Tuesday announced a new sale that brings a number of solid deals to new and existing subscribers. The “New Year, New Phone” promotion will slash the price of all smartphones and offer them for $49.99 or less from Friday, January 6th through Sunday, January 8th. Each deal requires a mail-in rebate and the selection of a qualifying unlimited Value Plan, with payments starting as low as $10 per month. Additionally, the Huawei Springboard and LG G-Slate will be offered for $50 when users sign up for a monthly contract. Read on for T-Mobile’s full press release. More →

Microsoft is reportedly testing a fix to a Windows Phone SMS security hole that was first discovered by Khaled Salameh earlier this month. “[Microsoft’s] Security Team contacted me today, they’ve confirmed the WP7 SMS Bug and found the root cause, a fix is currently under testing,” Salameh tweeted on Wednesday. Here’s how the bug worked: one user could send a text message with a specific string of characters to a Windows Phone device that would automatically reboot the phone and then lock the Windows Phone user out of the Messaging Hub. It is unclear when Microsoft will issue the patch to the public. More →

Nokia plans to exit its low-end feature phone and Symbian smartphone businesses in North America following the launch of its first round of Windows Phones, Journal blog AllThingsD reports. Nokia has historically had a great deal of trouble placing smartphones with carriers here in the U.S., and the Finnish phone maker has subsequently not had much success penetrating the market. Moving forward, however, Nokia is betting the bank on smartphones in North America. “When we launch Windows Phones we will essentially be out of the Symbian business, the S40 business, etc.,” said Nokia President Chris Weber in an interview with AllThingsD. “It will be Windows Phone and the accessories around that. The reality is if we are not successful with Windows Phone, it doesn’t matter what we do (elsewhere).” Weber continued, “We’ll develop for North America and make the phones globally available and applicable. In fact, evidence of that is that the first Windows Phones that will ship are being done by our group in San Diego.” Nokia is expected to launch its first Windows Phone-powered smartphone later this year. More →

As a result of the newly inked deal between Microsoft and Nokia, the Redmond-based software giant hopes to eventually sell 100 million Windows Phone devices annually. “We have dreams and aspirations that we can get to 100 million units per year with that single deal,” Microsoft’s Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner said during his presentation at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference on Wednesday. Following Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer’s earlier admission that Windows Phone sales are still “very small,” it is now more apparent than ever that the Nokia deal can potentially make or break Microsoft’s mobile business. While there are already a handful of great devices on the market, other Windows Phone partners such as Samsung, HTC and LG are currently focusing the bulk of their efforts on Android-powered smartphones, leaving Windows Phone 7 as something of an afterthought. Android has continued to grow rapidly over the past eight months while Microsoft’s mobile OS share in the key U.S. market has actually dropped 35% since the introduction of Windows Phone 7 last November. Turner gave no indication as to how quickly Microsoft hopes to reach the 100 million-device milestone. More →

Microsoft showed off a number of new Windows Phone “Mango” devices during a Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference presentation on Tuesday. The unnamed devices were on stage during a Microsoft presentation, and were handled very briefly so the audience could get a quick look at them. Acer’s first Windows Phone was the first device to be displayed, followed by a pink waterproof offering from Fujitsu. ZTE also had a device on stage, but all eyes were locked on a Galaxy S II-like device from Samsung running Windows Phone Mango. Unfortunately, no additional details were shared surrounding any of the aforementioned smartphones. A video of the forthcoming Mango phones follows below.

ComScore issued its May report on mobile subscriber market share in the U.S. last week, and BGR noted that Google’s Android OS and Apple’s iOS grew more popular in the month, mostly at RIM’s expense. Perhaps equally as troubling as RIM’s continued slide, however, is Microsoft’s position with Windows Phone. As noted by winrumors, Microsoft’s share of the U.S. smartphone market has dropped a whopping 35% since it released its next-generation smartphone platform in November of last year. At that time, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile accounted for an estimated 9% of smartphones sold in the U.S. In May, Microsoft’s combined share was just 5.8%. We’re big fans of Windows Phone here at BGR, but the lack of carrier attention has left the OS as something of an afterthought thus far. With Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” devices due later this year and Nokia set to launch its first Windows Phone before 2012, Microsoft is well-positioned globally. Here in the U.S. however, the Redmond-based tech giant needs far more carrier support if it hopes to make a dent in an already crowded smartphone market. ComScore’s May smartphone platform figures follow below. More →

Microsoft originally said that Rovio’s hit game Angry Birds would make its debut in May, but that date was later pushed until June 29th. That day is finally here and, as promised, the game is now available in the Windows Phone Marketplace. Oddly enough, the title will cost gamers $2.99 — quite a price hike over the free ad-supported version available on Android, and even the $0.99 price tag for iOS devices. Worse yet, it doesn’t appear that Angry Birds Seasons — which is being updated every month with new levels — is available. Hopefully that version will be available soon, too, but we wouldn’t hold our breath. Game on! More →